French Green
Lens culinaris
105 days — 'French Green' lentils, as their name implies, are green in color but heavily mottled with dark green and black highlights.
They are very delicious tasting and cook quickly without needing to be pre-soaked. Each packet contains 0.25 ounce, which is approximately 200 seeds.
Lentils are one of the most ancient of all cultivated foods but rarely grown by modern gardeners. Archaeologists have found lentil seeds dating to the Bronze Age. Lentils are grown in most European countries, Asia, North Africa and North America. Small lentils tend to be more flavorful and are preferred in the Middle East.
Lentils belongs to the protein rich legume family. The lentil's high protein content is said to be more easily digested than that of larger beans. They are also high in iron.
Additionally, when you consider the nutritional superiority of lentils over a staple like pasta, you might want to serve them instead. Compared with spaghetti, lentils supply much more folate (folic acid), which reportedly fights heart disease. They have considerably more fiber (about 25% of which is the soluble form, and helps to lower cholesterol); and more protein. Lentils make a fine side dish and an excellent basis for salads and hearty soups.
Cultivation Information:
Lentils are an annual plant that typically grow from 1 to 2½ feet in height. Long periods of cool weather can result in excessively tall plants and delay flowering.
Need to be sown early in the growing season (similar to garden or green pea weather). Sow as early in the spring as soil can be worked while still moist but warm enough to stimulate germination. Lentil plants will tolerate some frost and reportedly will re-grow if the above ground portion is damaged. Yields will be reduced if sown late in the season (after about the third week in May in the north).
Sow seeds 1 to 1½ inches deep in moist soil. Seeding depth can be increased in soils with a low water-holding capacity. Once established, lentils grow under quite dry conditions.
They are grown and harvested much like dry beans except that harvest is typically mid-July when the seeds are mature and the soil naturally dries. Because dry soil is a requirement, plant in an area of the garden where irrigation can be ceased without injuring your other crops.
